DONALD P. JACOBS - Budd Larner

Don prepares appellate briefs and presents oral argument in a variety of areas, including employment discrimination, intellectual property, RICO, §1983 civil rights and consumer fraud. He was on the brief in Beck v. Prupis, a RICO case decided by the United States Supreme Court, and has argued many times before the New Jersey Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, and other appellate courts. He is a former adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School, where he taught "Effective Legal Writing."

Among the cases in which Don wrote briefs and presented oral argument are the following:

Mogull v. CB Commercial Real Estate Group, Inc., 319 N.J. Super. 53 (App. Div. 1999), rev'd in part and remanded in part, 162 N.J. 449 (2000), rev'd and remanded as to punitive damages, No. A-4501-96T1 (App. Div. 2000), certif. denied, 165 N.J. 607 (2000). The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, reversed a $5 million punitive damage award against an employer in a sex discrimination case arising under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. Click here for Unpublished Decision
Shovlin v. University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, No. 98-6346 (3d Cir. 1999). The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of a university official in a §1983 civil rights action involving alleged violations of First Amendment rights.
General Motors Corp. v. City of Linden, 143 N.J. 336, cert. denied, 519 U.S. 816 (1996). The New Jersey Supreme Court held that General Motors could not maintain a §1983 action against a city and its tax assessor for allegedly unconstitutional tax assessments.

Don represents public entities and public officials in the defense of actions filed under 42 U.S.C. §1983, a federal statute that permits recovery for violations of constitutional rights. Don has prepared motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment in such cases, has presented oral argument in state and federal court, and has negotiated settlements. He is the author of "Responding to Novel Claims Under §1983: An Aggressive Defense Strategy."

For clients in the direct mail industry, Don reviews promotions for compliance with applicable law, responds to problems that arise with the US Postal Service and state attorneys general, and handles litigation. Besides selling merchandise, Don’s clients have offered sweepstakes, telephone trivia games and puzzle contests.

Don reviews Internet promotions for compliance with applicable law, writes sweepstakes rules and terms and conditions to effectuate client concepts, drafts and negotiates contracts, and addresses privacy, trademark, copyright, customer service and other issues.

ERISA Appeals and Litigation

The intricate statutory and regulatory scheme governing ERISA-regulated benefits plans can be daunting to the uninitiated employee, beneficiary or attorney. Don has thoroughly researched and written about the Department of Labor regulation that permits appeals from denials of benefits. He is experienced in preparing ERISA appeals and in challenging denials of such appeals in federal court, paying particular attention to the consequences of any non-compliance with the applicable procedural regulation.

Don handles commercial litigation matters involving RICO, trademarks, discrimination, contracts and other issues. He is experienced in writing briefs at all stages of trial court litigation. For example, in Jazz Photo Corp. v. Imation Corp. -- a federal case in which Budd Larner's client obtained a settlement of more than $26 million -- Don wrote or oversaw the preparation of more than 30 briefs, addressing discovery, summary judgment, evidentiary and appellate issues. See also Good 'N Natural v. Nature's Bounty, Inc., 1990 WL 127126 (D.N.J. 1990) (granting summary judgment to defendant in trademark infringement action under Lanham Act).

Undergraduate: Cornell University (B.S. 1973)
Law School: Rutgers Law School (J.D. 1981)

United States Supreme Court
New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania
United States Courts of Appeals for the Third, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Circuits
United States District Courts for the Southern District of New York, New Jersey, and Eastern District of Pennsylvania
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Member, New Jersey State Bar Association; The Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey; Direct Marketing Club of New York; Appellate Practice Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association
Former mediator, Community Dispute Resolution Project
Managing Editor, Rutgers Law Journal, 1980-81
Former Senior Editor, Labor Relations Guide
Certificate of Merit, American Bar Association, Gavel Awards program
Member, Federal Circuit Bar Association